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College football poll wrapup – so how did we do?

Every year the American-Statesman does a preseason college football poll in July. We poll all our staffers and come up with a list.

For the 2015 season, 12 of 13 staffers who voted in the AA-S poll listed Ohio State as their No. 1 team, the other choosing TCU.

GLENDALE, AZ – JANUARY 11: Ty Flournoy-Smith #83 of the Alabama Crimson Tide celebrates with a sign that reads, “Alabama Crimson Tide National Champions” after defeating the Clemson Tigers in the 2016 College Football Playoff National Championship Game on January 11, 2016 in Glendale, Arizona. The Crimson Tide defeated the Tigers with a score of 45 to 40. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)

How did we do?

Not nearly as well as 2014 when we nailed three of the four teams in the first College Football Playoff. This year we got only one — national champion Alabama. We had two Big 12 teams in the playoff but not Oklahoma. Oops. (we certainly were not alone on that front).

We left Stanford and Iowa out of the mix. And, like everyone else, we didn’t see Houston’s breakthrough.

In the next few weeks, AA-S columnist Kirk Bohls will offer his annual preseason Top 25. He is a voter in the Associated Press poll.

Similar to our annual Re-Ranking The Bowls project, here is a look back at the 2015 American-Statesman preseason Top 25, accompanied by the final results and commentary:

1. Ohio State — Buckeyes (12-1) finished No. 4. They started slowly, but they were superb in the last few games. Had the Buckeyes earned a chance to defend their national championship in the playoff, they just might have done it. This team was more talented than Alabama or Clemson. Just ask the NFL scouts.

2. TCU — Horned Frogs (11-2) finished No. 7. A spate of early injuries ravaged their defense. Then late-season injuries to QB Trevone Boykin (plus a bowl suspension) and WR Josh Doctson were the final blows, though TCU did pull off a miracle comeback to beat Oregon in the Alamo Bowl.

3. Alabama — The always-dependable Crimson Tide (14-1) won Nick Saban’s fifth national championship (overall) and fourth in seven years in Tuscaloosa. Derrick Henry won the Heisman Trophy, to boot. You couldn’t go wrong by penciling in Bama No. 1 every single year – at least until Nick Saban retires.

4. Baylor — Bears (10-3) finished No. 13. Oh, it could have been so much better, but the Bears churned through FOUR quarterbacks because of injuries. In the regular-season finale against Texas, Baylor used a wide receiver at QB. In the bowl game against North Carolina, they used a running back at QB — and still set rushing and total yardage records.

5. Oregon — Ducks (9-4) finished No. 19. Clearly, they were overrated, but this was a good team that took some lumps in the rugged Pac-12 and didn’t really start humming until transfer QB Vernon Adams Jr. became acclimated with the system. And when he was hurt, Oregon was not the same team.

6. Michigan State — Spartans (12-2) finished No. 6. Bingo! The offense just wasn’t there enough of the time, and QB Connor Cook had injury issues late in the season. Still hard to believe MSU won at Ohio State with a second-string quarterback. Mark Dantonio is a superb coach.

7. Auburn — Tigers finished 7-6 and way, way, way out of the money. OK, here’s our first complete whiff. But we were not alone. The Tigers were No. 6 in the AP media poll and No. 7 in the coaches poll. Quarterback was a year-long problem, and Will Muschamp’s defense wasn’t anything to brag about.

8. Florida State — Seminoles (10-3) finished No. 14. This was always going to be a bit of a retooling year for the Noles. They missed Heisman Trophy Jameis Winston badly. Notre Dame transfer Everett Golson was not the answer.

9. USC — Trojans finished 8-6 and out of the rankings. Turmoil on the sidelines dogged this team, and coach Steve Sarkisian was sacked mid-season. USC did rally to win the Pac-12 South, but it was crushed by Stanford in the league title game and then lost its bowl.

10. Notre Dame — Irish (10-3) finished No. 11. This was an excellent team that played a tough schedule, endured several key injuries and lost by only 2 points at Clemson and 2 points at Stanford before getting rocked by Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl.

11. UCLA — Bruins (8-5) were an under-achiever, despite having possibly the best freshman quarterback in the country, Josh Rosen. They dropped out of the final poll after losing to 5-7 Nebraska in a bowl game they did not want to be in.

12. LSU — Tigers (9-3) finished No. 16. But 9-3 seasons do not bring a smile to the faces of Tigers fans, and Les Miles nearly lost his job. In the end, wiser heads prevailed, but Miles and staff do need to be blamed for not developing quarterbacks and badly misusing wide-receiver talent.

13. Clemson — Tigers (14-1) finished No. 2 after being No. 1 for the latter stages of the season. QB Deshaun Watson was brilliant, and coach Dabo Swinney won national coach of the year honors. So the term “Clemson-ing,” or gagging in big games, has been permanently retired.

14. Arkansas — Razorbacks (8-5) finished out of the money. A trendy pick out of the SEC, the Hogs never fired early on and piled up a bunch of losses. Once they started clicking late in the season, it was too late to salvage a Top 25 ranking.

15. Georgia — Bulldogs (10-3) missed the Top 25. Highly unusual that a 10-win SEC team would not merit a spot in AP’s final rankings. The Dawgs were No. 24 in the coaches poll. They never found a good quarterback and missed RB Nick Chubb (injury).

16. Ole Miss — Rebels (10-3) finished No. 10 and won the Sugar Bowl by blowing Oklahoma State’s doors off in New Orleans. Huge claim to fame for the Rebs: They were the only team to beat Alabama … and they did it in Tuscaloosa. QB Chad Kelly will be back for more.

17. Arizona State — Sun Devils (6-7) laid a giant egg. An insider pick to make the playoffs by more than a few prominent national forecasters, the Sun Devils couldn’t stop anyone, allowing 435 points. They were blitz-happy but burned repeatedly.

19. Arizona — Wildcats (7-6) were out of the rankings. Blame it on the defense and lack of depth. The Cats scored 486 points, which should have been good enough to win 9 or 10 games. But they were torched for 465 points, one of the worst D’s in the country.

20. Boise State — Broncos (9-4) missed the final poll despite racking up 508 points on the season and annihilating Northern Illinois 55-7 in a bowl game. They also discovered their franchise QB in freshman Brett Rypien.

21. Mississippi State — Bulldogs (9-4) missed the final poll but weren’t far off. This was a pretty solid team that can feel good about its season, but what will life be like without QB Dak Prescott?

22. Wisconsin — Badgers (10-3) finished No. 21, so we were very close here. Wisky got the most it could out of this team, which led the NCAA in scoring defense.

23. Texas A&M — Aggies (8-5) did not finish in the Top 25. They started well against a soft opening schedule but drifted and drifted until falling out in week 11 after a 26-10 home loss to Auburn. Quarterback troubles plagued this team all year long — then got worse after the regular season with transfers.

24. Oklahoma — See, we didn’t forget about the Sooners (11-2). OK, we almost did. Both the AP and the coaches had them 19th, so they at least had a slightly better read on OU. We thought the program had stagnated and was possibly heading downhill. Instead, they made the playoffs and finished No. 5.

25. Missouri — Tigers finished 5-7 and 1-7 in the SEC. Plus, they lost an outstanding coach, Gary Pinkel, to health issues. Their offense is a mess, lacking skill-position talent and blocking depth, and coming off a season in which they scored a mere 163 points in 12 games.

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WHO DID WE WHIFF ON?

Stanford was a huge, glaring omission. They were near the top of the “others receiving votes” in our preseason poll. They were No. 21 in the AP and coaches polls. The Cardinal finished No. 3. Huge mistake, selling a David Shaw team short.

Houston received a few points in our poll, but that was it. The Cougars, behind Tom Herman’s coaching and Greg Ward Jr.’s playing, were unbeaten most of the season. They finished 13-1, American Athletic Conference champion, beat Florida State in the Peach Bowl and took No. 8 in the final polls.

Iowa got no support in our poll — nor any others. Boy, was that a mistake. The Hawkeyes went 12-2 and finished No. 9. They were good in the trenches and definitely an over-achiever. It is worth pointing out they were exposed in the Rose Bowl. Still, a marvelous, unexpected campaign.

Michigan was a program everyone knew would be taking a leap forward under Jim Harbaugh. Most of us just didn’t quite see it happening in year one. But the Wolverines went 10-3, pulverized the SEC’s Florida in the Citrus Bowl and finished No. 12.

North Carolina is a team we ranked in previous years that consistently let us down. So this time we leave the Tar Heels out, and they go 11-3, make the ACC title game and finish No. 15.

Utah caught most everyone by surprise. The Utes started 6-0, peaked at No. 3 in the nation in week 7 before star RB Devontae Booker went down and later QB Travis Wilson was injured. The Utes finished 10-3 and ranked 17th.

Navy is always the proverbial “tough out” under coach Ken Niumatalolo and has been a handful for everyone else the last four years with option wizard Keenan Reynolds at quarterback. But nobody saw 11-2 and No. 18 in the country.

Oklahoma State received support in all the preseason polls, including ours. The Cowboys took advantage of a backloaded schedule to build a 10-0 record and No. 8 national ranking. They finished 0-3, overmatched each time, and wound up No. 20.

Tennessee was close to making our poll. A lot of folks tabbed the young Volunteers to win the SEC East. They didn’t do that, but the Vols went 9-4 and ranked 22nd. They are pegged for big things next year.

Northwestern often over-achieves under Pat Fitzgerald, and that was more noticeable this year than in most. The Wildcats wound up with with a 10-3 record and No. 23 ranking.

Western Kentucky had a prolific QB, Brandon Doughty, and scored bunches of points, but we didn’t know much else about the Hilltoppers. Turns out they won Conference USA, went 12-2 and took a bowl win, as well — good for No. 24 in the nation.

Florida was written off because of a coaching change and serious lack of offensive talent. The offense was, indeed, awful, but the defense was stout and new coach Jim McElwain knows what he’s doing. The Gators went 10-4 and No. 25.